Many Christians in the U.S. today are preoccupied with fixing: fixing the country; fixing the culture; fixing individuals who identify in various ways. Is this what the Bible calls for? And is this a worldwide phenomenon for Christians?

To some extent this is a phenomenon pretty much found in the United States alone. Behind this preoccupation is the belief that the United States was founded as a Christian nation based on Christian values, and that if the United States abandons those values, the nation will experience a significant decline from its greatness. Those at the forefront of this movement will point to evidence that in some ways the United States is already experiencing the beginnings of decline including a corresponding moral decline, and that the evidence parallels both the growing trend to remove God (and especially in the person of Jesus Christ) from the public square.

Regarding their premise, there is a great deal of evidence that the United States was founded on Christian principles and by mostly Christian political leaders. We can see it in everything from numerous laws, to the theological content of the early McGuffey Readers, to the foundation of colleges and hospitals, to oaths of office and swearing in of witnesses on a Bible, to public statements by political leaders at their inauguration in office, their farewell addresses and speeches at times of national crisis.

But were these the only principles upon which the United States was founded? We might accurately say with a touch of humor that the Founding Fathers relied on both Calvin and Hobbes. Indeed, they were influenced by the political philosophies of Thomas Hobbes, Montesquieu, Rene Descartes, John Locke, Cesare Beccaria, David Hume, Adam Smith, Voltaire, Rousseau and Plato: all known for varying degrees of secularism in their major writings and some not Christian at all.

Therefore, while we were seen as being endowed with unalienable rights by a creator God, the United States also greatly expanded the rights of a free people to both participate in the political process of the new republic and to enjoy life and liberty and pursue happiness as they saw fit, provided it did not interfere with those same rights in others. So even though these rights come from God, each citizen could choose how to worship God or not worship at all, or even refuse to believe in the existence of God. Certainly many political leaders of that time would have believed in the superiority of Christianity in the marketplace of ideas and therefore would have had little concern about the United States ever abandoning Christianity to any great degree. One of the ways to ensure that, they believed, was to have a well-educated public in at least the basics, what became known as “the three R’s”. From such was spawned an emphasis on the importance of a public school education for all children who reached a certain age and the establishment of most of the early collegiate institutions of the country. (Ironically, most of these colleges are today liberal bastions and harbors of negativity towards Christianity.)

Regardless of the origins of the political system and the prevailing culture in the United States, we’ve come a long way and seen many changes in the 450+ years since the first permanent colony by Europeans was established in St. Augustine, the 400+ years since settlers from England founded Jamestown and the 240+ years since the First Continental Congress of the American colonies met, leading to the 13 colonies declaring their independence from Great Britain less than two years later. In particular during the past fifty years, Americans have moved away from mainline Protestant denominations in general and from organized religion in particular. Many also continue to nominally identify as Protestants or Catholics, but have turned away from strict adherence to Papal authority in the case of Roman Catholics, and local ecclesiastic authority in the case of Protestants, many of whom retain the identity but are essentially unchurched.

At the same time, there has been growth or at least continued strength in various denominations of Baptists as well as in independent evangelical Christian churches (some in small splinter denominations) which include a number of megachurches. It is from these denominations and churches that the greatest hue and cry comes to see the United States either continue to be or return to be a “Christian nation”. But the question is, how should this occur, through politics or evangelism? And if through evangelism or both ways, what should the evangelical part of the message be?

First and foremost, let me state unequivocally that there is nothing in either the Bible or the Constitution of the United States that prohibits Christians (including clergy) from participating in the political process, whether voting, voicing public opinion, running for office at any level, and serving in either appointed or elective offices in any of the branches of government at any level. And certainly the positions and actions of those who serve in government can and must be influenced by their moral beliefs and convictions as shaped by their spirituality. But it must also be consistent with the laws under which they serve and swear or affirm in some way their fealty to. And if those same moral beliefs and convictions cause them to have sharp and deep disagreement with any of those laws, their attempts to change those laws must also be within the framework of the law. Furthermore, if they can no longer abide by the framework of the law, they must be willing to accept the consequences if found guilty of violating the law in a fair and just hearing or trial.

There is, and should be, far less restriction on what is preached or taught within churches and in general the free exchange of ideas in the public square. This is also part of the “American experiment” in freedom, including protections within the Bill of Rights regarding the free exercise of religion. And that free exercise extends beyond mere worship.

But freedom, to be used wisely, demands a high level of responsibility. In his letter to the Romans and two letters to the church at Corinth, the Apostle Paul writes in detail about the balance between Christian liberty and responsibility. Those responsibilities extend to dealings with both fellow Christians and non-Christians, and include a general requirement to obey the laws of the land unless such laws require (not permit) Christians to disobey God’s commandments: in particular, only those commandments that apply when part of a country that is not a theocracy (which is every country other than Israel and Judah from the time of Moses until the diaspora).

Christians ought to take notice that Paul was writing these words from locations and to Christians in locations that were far harsher in their treatment of Christians than anything close to what Christians in the United States experience today. He was writing these tenets that became part of the Biblical canon of the New Testament at a time when he and eleven of the first twelve post-ascension Apostles would be martyred for being Christian (the twelfth, John, sentenced to exile on the island of Patmos for the final decades of his 94 years on Earth). While persecution of Christians in the world is at historically high levels, there is nothing in the United States that even remotely compares to what was experienced by the early Church until the conversion of Emperor Constantine around 312 AD.

So what choice do Christians face? In terms of Christian witness, it is the choice between legalism and love. Love doesn’t mean anything goes and all Biblical standards are thrown out the window. Agape love means primarily caring about others, Christian or non-Christian, looking to lift up and edify other Christians while drawing non-Christians to the love and light of Christ. It means remembering who we were before we were saved and that we still fall short of the glory of God even after becoming new creatures in Christ. And it means remembering how powerful God’s love is; how strong God’s grace is. 1st Corinthians 13 is one of the best known chapters of the New Testament, and one of the best testimonies to the power of God’s agape love (translated as charity in the KJV). The strength of God’s grace is not as well known.

Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. – 2nd Timothy 2:1

So I choose agape love over legalism. Here are some examples of agape love in action. One is someone famous in the 20th century, one is someone unknown to all but a handful of people, and one is direct from the Bible. There will be a follow up to this post, a part two, that will deal mostly with a fourth example whose example is especially interesting to me in comparison with my life.

Anyone who watched the movie, “Chariots of Fire”, knows the story of Eric Liddell. His refusal to compete in his specialty, the 100 meter dash because the heats for the race in the 1924 Olympics in Paris were held on a Sunday is a key element of the story portrayed in the movie. It certainly smacks of legalism. But while it might have hurt the chances of his country’s team in one event, it was basically something he imposed on himself. He did not require it of any of his teammates. And it was potentially less detrimental to his team than the refusal of Hank Greenberg and Sandy Koufax to play on Yom Kippur during key games in a pennant race or the World Series. As it turned out, Greenberg’s Detroit Tigers would win the American League pennant in 1934, Koufax’s Los Angeles Dodgers would win the World Series in 1965 and Great Britain would win the gold and bronze medals in the 100 meter dash at the 1924 Olympics, the race that Liddell refused to run. As for Liddell, he had time to adjust his training to a longer sprint race: the 400 meters. He won the gold medal in Olympic record time, and also captured a bronze medal in the 200 meter run.

The movie also showed how Liddell, born in China, was from a family of missionaries. What is somewhat less well known is what he did after his Olympic triumph in 1924. In 1925, he returned to China as a missionary, first in Tianjin (Tientsin) and was transferred to a poor rural area of Xiaozhang in 1941. The area was so dangerous due to attacks by the Japanese Army that he sent his pregnant wife and two older daughters to Canada to live with his wife’s parents.

In 1943, Liddell was captured by the Japanese with other members of the mission and was interned in a camp. While others, even many of the missionaries, became selfish and cliquish, Liddell’s exemplary character stood out in the worst of times as he tirelessly helped others, especially the elderly and the children.

Many stories of his selflessness survived Liddell and the camp. The one that stands out to me involves him serving as a referee for the boys team sports games like soccer, rugby and field hockey. Originally, consistent with the stand he took at the 1924 Olympics, he refused to referee any games on Sunday in hopes that the boys would spend their Sundays in church and devotions that day. Instead, the boys formed their own informal matches. Reasonably well-behaved when their hero was refereeing, fights broke out among the boys during the Sunday games. When Liddell learned of this, did he punish the boys? No. Understanding that they were boys, not men, and concerned for their safety, he relaxed his strict position about activities on the Sabbath and began to referee their Sunday contests as well.

From an internment camp in China during World War II, we go to a small town in south-central Pennsylvania. The year was 2016.

Mercersburg is a small town of about 1500 people, but some famous people were born there or have lived there. A private prep school, Mercersburg Academy, has educated seven Rhodes scholars, a Nobel laureate, two Academy Award winners and 54 Olympians (12 who have won gold medals). I met one of those gold medalists. Charles Moore Jr., who won a gold medal in the 1952 Olympics at Helsinki in the 400 meter hurdles and a silver medal running one of the legs on the 4 x 400 meter relay team, went from Mercersburg to my alma mater of Cornell, graduating in 1952 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He is also a member of the Quill & Dagger Society, a senior honorary to which I was selected in 1974. But I’ve already talked about an Olympic gold medalist.

Instead, this story primarily involves the public high school which is named for perhaps its most famous native son, President James Buchanan. And it involves a student there who will never receive world recognition. But I believe she will receive many crowns in heaven.

It began in early March with a local Youth Pastor hearing about The Life Book, which contains the complete Gospel of John. Students are using it to witness to their peers. The pastor was so excited by this that he ordered six cases and shared the information about it at their next youth group meeting. The students eagerly began to make plans to distribute the books to their classmates at James Buchanan High School. But the most eager was Violet Clark. One of the most popular students in school, she asked the Youth Pastor for a full case: 100 books.

Did Violet distribute those books of witness to her fellow students by preaching fire and brimstone and telling them what horrible sinners they are? No! With a big smile and joy in her step, she went from student to student, those she knew and those she didn’t, to hand them a book and share Christ’s message of hope with them. It took her a little over six weeks to share the entire case, sharing the last three just before her 18th birthday.

The day after her birthday, Violet was involved in a serious car accident as she left school. Although the school is not one where prayer is normally promoted, students and teachers spontaneously began a prayer vigil on behalf of Violet. But three days later, God chose to call her home.

In the immediate aftermath of Violet’s death, the school community turned to the word of God that was now readily available, not only to deal with her death, but to find out how to receive the kind of joyful life that Violet lived while she was among them. Many students are coming to Christ, not in response to rebuke, but because Violet and some of her fellow youth group members radiated the love of Christ among them.

From modern day Pennsylvania, we go back nearly two thousand years to eastern Macedonia, in particular to the city of Philippi. Here we look upon two men who have gotten themselves into a peck of trouble. We know them today as the Apostle Paul and Silas, but it was Paul who was the leader.

It is Paul who we will focus on. God could not have picked a more interesting and well-suited person to be both his chief missionary of the Gospel and author of a major part of the New Testament through the letters he wrote to the churches he planted, clarifying some of the finer points of Christian theology and contending with heretical positions that were already creeping into the early Church. As the Church spread into Asia Minor, Macedonia, Greece and points west, the early Church membership went from being entirely Jewish to a not always comfortable mixture of Jew and Gentile.

But who better to deal with contentions and heresies than a Jewish scholar who at one time thought that believing that Jesus was the Messiah and the Son of God was the very epitome of heresy. Saul of Tarsus, who would later be better known by his Roman name, was perhaps the foremost persecutor of these Jewish followers of Jesus. It fact, it was when he was on the road to Damascus to apprehend these followers of Jesus (the name “Christian” was not even being used yet), that Paul had his direct encounter with Christ that led to his 180º change of position on the legitimacy of belief in Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God. It was such a major change that many of the leaders of the early Church were highly suspicious that it was a trick to enable Paul to destroy the Church by cutting off the head. It would be like Ted Cruz suddenly speaking out as the most ardent advocate of pro-LGBT issues.

But Paul was far more than a zealot. He was a scholar who studied at the feet of the best teachers of the Law that Judaism had to offer in his day. In fact, he was a member of the sect whose name is now synonymous with legalism. He was a Pharisee. And while he preached in the synagogue of Damascus immediately after his sight was restored following his Damascus road experience, he also studied the Tanakh long and hard to make sure that his interpretation of the experience was accurate.

Although the Bible tells us that Paul did not preach with eloquence, by adding a solid scriptural foundation to a compelling testimony of a changed life, he was able to win many converts, both Jew and Gentile, to the early church. As such, he often drew the ire of those who had a vested interest in maintaining the status quo, whether Jew or Gentile. In Philippi, it was wealthy Gentiles he angered. They incited a mob that brought Paul and Silas to the magistrates who in turn had them beaten and thrown into prison. At this point, we’ll let the Bible tell the story, starting with Acts 16:23.

And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house. (Acts 16:23-34)

What brought salvation to the jailor and his family? Was it angry rhetoric directed against the jailor, the magistrates and his accusers? Was it the formation of a protest committee, marching around the jail and shouting slogans? Did a commando raid break Paul and Silas out of prison, taking the jailor and his family with them? No! It was because he saw their concern for him. Not only had they been cheerfully praising God in a situation where most would be surly and grumbling, they did not avail themselves of the perfect opportunity to escape. But Paul, who wrote about sacrificing his Christian liberty for a weaker believer, sacrificed his physical liberty for someone who didn’t even believe in Christ. Yet led by the Holy Spirit to demonstrate humble obedience, Paul won this man and his family to Christ.

Even some conservative Christian websites are talking about the need to return to the primary Gospel message for our witness to the world. Although I don’t agree with every idea stated in the article, I am providing a link to one such discourse. And then the next blog post will look at the fourth and final person in the list I promised, a person some of my transgender friends may be surprised that I am including. But his message fits this theme perfectly.

And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. – Colossians 3:14-15

So this is the new rallying cry, is it? “No men in women’s bathrooms.”

Well I happen to agree. A man has no right in a public women’s bathroom. What I disagree on is their definition of man and woman, male and female.

It continues to sadden me that certain segments of the Christian population are spearheading this attack on the safety of transgender people. But what saddens me particularly today is the blatant disregard for truth by these Christians. Love of the truth should be one of the hallmarks of a Christian.

The word “truth” occurs 117 times in the Old Testament and 118 times in the considerably shorter New Testament. It is a major theme in the Gospel of John and John’s epistles.

For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. – John 1:17

God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. – John 4:24

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. – John 8:32

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. – John 14:6

Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. – John 14:17

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. – John 16:13

Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. – John 17:17

I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. – 1st John 2:21

My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. – 1st John 3:18-19

John was not the only New Testament writer to deal with truth. Here are some verses from Paul’s epistles.

[Charity] Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; – 1st Corinthians 13:6

But [we] have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. – 2nd Corinthians 4:2

For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. – 2nd Corinthians 13:8

Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. – Ephesians 4:25

(For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) – Ephesians 5:9

And still more verses from the New Testament:

Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. – James 1:18

But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. – James 3:14

Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: – 1st Peter 1:22

Now what truth does this segment of Christianity ignore, deny and dispute?

They dispute our personal testimony. Even with conservative estimates of the frequency of transgenderism, hundreds of thousands of people in the United States and millions around the world claim that this is our story, our experience, our reality. It is the testimony of little children whose lives are improved when they are allowed to live in their true gender identity. It is the testimony of people of my generation, baby boomers, who tried to repress and deny the truth about ourselves even more than our opponents do. But our identities persisted despite everything we did. It is the testimony of many fine, upstanding citizens and many whose potential is untapped because of discrimination. It is the testimony of Christians like me who have and continue to proclaim Christ, tenaciously holding onto our faith in the face of every attack we have received from those who claim to speak for the church and for Christ.

The ignore the danger that transgender people face every day because of bigotry and hatred against us. They ignore the horrific murder rate against transgender people, a rate that is most likely even higher than reported in a world where many murders are reported with the transgender identity of the victim hidden behind rejected name and gender; where there are many countries (e.g. Russia and China) where our very existence is denied. They ignore the even greater danger we would face if forced to use spaces based on our gender assigned at birth rather than our true gender.

They outright lie about transgender people being a danger. Earlier this month, a sheriff with 41 years of law enforcement experience unequivocally gave testimony to the legislature of his state that he has “never heard of a transgender person attacking or otherwise bothering someone in a restroom. This is a non-issue.” This is not a sheriff in the liberal Northeast or California. This is Leon Lott, Richland County (SC) Sheriff since 1996. His county includes the state capital, Columbia, so he serves in a populated area. In addition, any law enforcement official at his level is going to keep up-to-date on crime trends and issues outside of his own area, especially once the issue rises to the be on the front burner in his state and around the country. The plain truth is that of the jurisdictions that have passed laws protecting the right of transgender people to use bathrooms consistent with their innate gender, laws that have been in place for many years in some cases, there have been ZERO problems. In addition, when transgender people are in public, we have to use restrooms. So even in locales where such protections don’t exist, we fearfully use the restroom that corresponds to our identity. Again there have been ZERO problems.

They dispute the preponderance of learned opinion of the medical community, in the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics. They were very willing to accept their findings decades ago when these groups had little to go on in the way of research and real life experience. But with nearly three full generations of evidence at hand (and more being gathered), these respected organizations have updated their opinions and protocols based on the enlightenment gathered from their findings. Somehow in our opponents mind, without evidence, this is all a plot. Instead, they lean on discredited studies, discredited psychiatrists, rogue organizations and misrepresentation of valid studies. (I’m old enough to have lived through this before. I can remember when rock ‘n roll was supposedly a communist plot.)

They often lie and hide their true motive for waging this battle. But not always. With a debate version of three-card monte, they deftly shift from reason to reason behind their legislation and umbrage. When the moral/Biblical argument is rejected, they shift to the need to protect women as the purpose. When that argument is countered, then it becomes a matter of a right to privacy: balancing the rights of transgender people against that of cisgender women.

As far as the moral/Biblical argument, I will touch upon that in the next bullet point. As far as the protection argument, I have already shown that to be a canard. But I will take it one step further. There is a group known to be a danger primarily to women and children. They are the people on the sex offender list. Where is their hue and cry about such people being allowed to use public bathrooms? And as far as transgender protection laws opening the door for perverts to take advantage of it (recently parroted by Curt Schilling, among others), not only doesn’t it happen, they (many of whom are staunch 2nd Amendment defenders) would never apply the same rationale to strict gun control measures just because a small minority of people in our society actually do carry out horrific violence using firearms.

As far as the privacy argument, the only bathrooms I have ever seen where the stalls had no doors was in men’s locker rooms. (I hated them. I avoided using them whenever I could.) A naked cisgender woman in a public women’s bathroom would likely receive a negative response unless it was a clear case of a medical problem. I have never seen someone in a public bathroom whose genitals were in plain sight unless they were on the changing table. In spaces where nudity is more likely to be involved, the topic is more sensitive. (I never totally disrobe when I go to my gym, and there are private changing stalls if I ever would need to.) But even here, social custom is changing for reasons other than transgender. When I went to my 40th college reunion two years ago (Cornell), the dorm where my class was housed is a coed dorm. Most of the student rooms do not have private bathrooms. The common bathrooms (including showers) are also coed. This is a growing trend according to what I have read.

They distort or err on what the Bible says on the topic of transgender. I have written many blog posts countering their arguments (in conjunction with all the medical evidence that has been gathered on the nature of transgenderism). The short version is that very little can be found in the Bible on the topic and the term is not found in the Holy Scriptures. Of course, there are many modern terms (e.g. democracy and republic) that are not found there, either. The closest we can come is when Jesus describes three types of eunuchs in Matthew 19:12. The person who is born a eunuch could describe a number of situations, including someone who is transgender. Most importantly, Jesus does not condemn any of the three examples, consistent with many instances in which the new and better covenant is more inclusive than the old. And as to whether God defines us by our mind/spirit or our body parts, I have shown by many verses the preponderance of evidence that He identifies us by our mind/spirit.

Please understand that this is not a transgender vs Christianity issue, nor should it be. I and a number of friends are evidence that a person can be both. And I have many devout conservative Christians in my life who are accepting and supportive.

I know full well that there are a number of topics on which Christians are in disagreement. And there is always room for honest disagreement. But what hurts the most is the vitriol directed by this segment of the Christian population at the transgender community. And even if Christianity has come under attack from some segments of the transgender community (and I will not descend into a “who started it” black hole), Christians are not supposed to return evil for evil. We are called to a higher purpose.

Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God: Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved. – 1st Corinthians 10:32-33

When you read the many verses earlier in my post, you may have noticed a connection between truth and a loving attitude. (If not, look again.) Even if the segment of Christians who I have called out in this post earnestly believe what they are preaching about transgender people, all Christians are admonished to be “… speaking the truth in love …” (Ephesians 4:15).

Over my six decades of life, I have witnessed many wonderful events and scenes. Some of these were watched by me on television. The ones I remember the most were all connected with the space program, and all of them occurred in the 1960’s. I remember being in school and watching one of the first Mercury space launches while we debated whether or not the Russians had already made it into space with manned flights. At the other end of the decade, my parents, my brother and I stayed up late to watch Neil Armstrong take “a giant leap for mankind” on the moon.

In between, the television pictures were quite mundane. It was the way we were receiving them which was quite extraordinary. For the first time, television pictures were being beamed from and to locations around the world by space satellite. The satellite was named Telstar and it was one of the rare times that a major event began early. So instead of remarks by President Kennedy, I remember as if it happened yesterday instead of the summer of 1962, Tony Taylor batting for the Phillies in Wrigley Field. I also remember a picture in the newspaper the next day: someone in Italy watching live action of an American baseball game.

Photo of Hearst Castle outdoor pool (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

For these events, I was one of millions who witnessed these events on television. Other wonderful images were experienced by me alone or with one passenger. It matters not if my testimony about these experiences is believed, because they have meaning for me and most likely no one else. They were the times I drove along some of the most scenic highways in the United States. They include Acadia National Park in Maine; the Adirondack Mountains of New York; crossing Roanoke Island and Croatan Sound on U.S. 64 from the Outer Banks to the North Carolina mainland; rounding a bend and coming out of a forest on I-75 and seeing the golden towers of the Mackinac Bridge looming three miles ahead (more majestic than the Golden Gate in my opinion, which I have also seen); driving through the bayous of Louisiana on I-10, with small fishing boats in the water between the directions of traffic, houses on stilts in the swamps and power lines stretching as far as the eye could see along Lake Pontchartrain; the Gallatin River Valley on U.S. 91 along the west side of Yellowstone National Park; Virgin River Gorge on I-15 from the Utah border to Littlefield in Arizona (the most spectacular road I have ridden on by far); my list wouldn’t be complete without the Pacific Coast Highway from San Francisco to San Luis Obispo in California (with a stop at Hearst Castle in San Simeon).

From my apartment, I have a lovely view that I almost take for granted as I lived here over 28 years, nearly half my life. Looking into the woods that buffer me from nearby buildings, the sights range from the stark monochromatic beauty right after a major snow storm, to the brilliant reds and yellows of autumn that reflect the afternoon sun through my window from trees a football field away.

And one of my favorite views is the moonset over the Rocky Mountains near Pikes Peak shortly after sunrise. The picture I took of that scene is my choice for my desktop wallpaper.

At the end of June, I posted about a number of exciting moments is sports that I witnessed. Because of the length of that post, I held one back. It was one I accomplished myself. But as I describe that brief moment of accomplishment, you will see that the way I witnessed it was as unusual as the accomplishment itself.

I was a student at Cornell at the time. Quite frankly, I am not sure which year, but based on the guys I was with, it was probably freshman or sophomore year. Somehow, I got asked to go with three or four guys I knew to Teagle Gym to play some basketball. It may have been connected with the fact that my name was added to round out the roster of an intramural team that they were part of, even though I was rarely available to play because I was the head manager for the indoor track team. The must have needed a certain minimum number of players to qualify as a team. I only recall playing a few minutes in one intramural game.

But this wasn’t a scheduled game. It was just a practice session and only a handful of all the team members were available. So this time I was on the floor for the entire practice.

Between the fact I am only about 5’4” and that my general athletic skills don’t extend in that direction, basketball is one of my worst sports. My friends had to be pretty desperate to meet their roster quota to ask me to be part of the team. So it is somewhat ironic that my single most outstanding moment as an athlete came during basketball.

When we got to the gym, we found that there weren’t any courts available. But we did find one that also had only a handful of guys. So we ended up playing them in a half-court pickup game. Cornell was a pretty big school even then, so it was no surprise that we knew none of these guys. That is an important fact to keep in mind as you read the story.

There was nothing remarkable about most of the game. It was a typical pickup game between two groups of guys that found themselves on the same court at the same time. And the groups were fairly evenly matched, as I recall. We had a couple of good athletes with size, including one who was an offensive lineman for the varsity football team. I think we led for a while, then the lead see-sawed, and then they went up by a couple of baskets. That was the situation when THE play happened.

We had the ball and one of our players attempted a shot. I was over on the left side, more out on the wing than in the back court. One of their players had been guarding me, but when the shot was taken, he took a couple of steps towards the basket in anticipation of a rebound.

And as it turned out, our player missed and the ball hit the left side of the hoop and bounced far away from the basket toward the left corner, moving fairly quickly. It bounced strongly enough that it got past the player who was guarding me. Now I am the closest player to the ball, but it is heading fairly quickly toward the corner. If it goes out it will be the other team’s ball, as we were the last team to touch the ball.

The player that had been guarding me was three or four steps further away. He had recovered and reversed direction, but he had no chance to get to it. But he also had no incentive to, because from his vantage point, it was going to go out as it appeared I had no chance to save it. When it went out, it would be their ball.

What he didn’t realize was the agility and reflexes I possessed. I had developed into a pretty fair hockey goalie in high school, and stopped many a puck because these abilities allowed me to recover when it appeared I was beaten. Often, that meant diving from one side of the goal to the other to make the save.

And that was my only chance here. I had to dive to make the save. And so I dove. And while I was in the air, inches off the ground, I spread out my arms and managed to reach the ball just before it was going out of bounds. I got my hands under the ball, and I flung it in the general direction of the basket, a Hail Mary pass of sorts in the hopes that one of my teammates would get to it first.

No sooner did I launch the ball that I hit the wood floor and slid across the polished surface. The courts for pickup games and practice were separated by heavy canvas curtains that were hung from the ceiling and reached within a few inches of the floor. When I slid, I ended up slightly under the end of that canvas curtain. And if the game was being played in an arena with spectators, I would have been looking in the direction of the seats in the corner of the arena. I was not looking anywhere near the direction of the basket, and even if I had been, the curtain would have blocked my view of the hoop.

As I am getting to my feet to get back onto the court and into the game, I notice that it sounds very quiet. There’s no team chatter, guys asking to be passed the ball and so on. In fact, the first thing I notice is that the guys on both teams are just standing around. So I asked, “Did I throw the ball out of bounds?”

One of my teammates replied, “You scored. It went in the basket.”

“What?” I replied. “Not only did it go in,” my teammate continued, “you swished it.” The guys on the other team nodded in agreement. And I believed that it happened. First of all the game was close enough that the other team would be unlikely to give up a portion of their lead to play a practical joke. Also, the looks on their faces was one of astonishment, not amusement. There’s no way an entire group of college age men could all keep a straight face under those circumstances.

If such a play happened today and someone was recording, it might go viral on YouTube. Instead, only a handful of guys know what happened that day on that basketball court in Teagle Gym, and who knows how many even remember it. After all, they didn’t make the shot.

For me, the memory is bittersweet. It was an amazing, unconscious, one in a billion shot. I clearly remember the event. And I saw it unfold. But I didn’t see it go in. I took the guys’ word for it. It’s up to you if you want to take my word for it.

It is the closest thing to a miracle that I have done in my life. And it is the only one. Jesus, on the other hand, performed a multitude of them.

This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true. And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen. – John 21:24-25

Tax Season is beginning to take up more and more of my time. Some problems dealing with New York State over my Obamacare application is adding to the demands on my time. So my blog posts will continue to be less frequent and shorter. I also will be using some outside sources and things that I wrote during my transition journey instead of fresh material. Hopefully, it will still be of growing interest to my current and new readers. And now, here’s today’s blog post.

There are times when I have concerns about the future of the United States. There are also times when I am very proud of my country and the ideals for which it stands and upon which it was founded. Yesterday was one of those days for patriotic pride.

It started when I met with a Christian friend to discuss her income tax situation. She will be a new client this year. She also does not know about my past or this blog, so I will not give her name.

After the meeting, we went out to lunch at a nearby Friendly’s restaurant. We arrived during the gap between the lunch and dinner hours, so we were able to talk with our waiter a bit more than we could if it was at a busier time.

My friend was born in Iran. She came here at age four, but her English is still somewhat accented. Perhaps this was why she did not comment on our waiter’s accent. Or perhaps I merely asked first. I definitely detected a Middle Eastern accent. His real first name was on his name tag, but to protect his privacy, I will call him “Salaam”.

Did he mind if I asked him where he was from? He cheerfully replied, Syria. He was a friendly, engaging young man. And in between his need to come and go to take care of our order and other customers, an interesting story unfolded.

This man was not your ordinary waiter. In Syria, he was a dentist. This in itself was intriguing. How does a Syrian dentist end up as a waiter in the New York City suburbs?

He began by asking us if we were familiar with what is going on in Syria as far as the fighting. My friend and I nodded yes. He replied that you can get killed there. People are being shot. The implication was that it is happening with great frequency there, far more than in the United States.

I thought that perhaps he had been part of the Syrian Christian minority and that was what put his life in danger. My friend may have had the same thought because at this point, she asked him what religion he followed. He replied, “Muslim.”

He went on to explain that Muslims are killing Muslims in Syria. It is the government versus the rebels, moderates versus extremists, Shiites versus Sunnis. People trying to live their daily lives are caught in between: homes and businesses destroyed; many have lost their lives.

Salaam told us that he walked away from the dental clinic he established and all his equipment. He has since learned that it has all been destroyed. He didn’t say which side did it. It really doesn’t matter at this point.

My friend asked him if he brought family with him. He shook his head. He came alone. Apparently he knew another Syrian dentist who had preceded him coming to the United States.

My friend was surprised that he would come here not really knowing anyone. Her family came here while the Shah was still firmly in power. She was not one whose family fled when the Shah was deposed or some in response to some other crackdown on Christians.

I, on the other hand, remember three of my Hungarian cousins coming here in 1957. I was four years old at the time, but I remember picking up one of them at Camp Kilmer, and the other two showing up at our house in Queens. It is a vivid memory for me, even though I was only four years old at the time. After the unsuccessful attempt in Hungary to get rid of the yoke of oppressive Soviet Communism, my cousins managed to become part of the roughly 200,000 Hungarians able to escape. They arrived with little more than the clothes on their back and a smile, knowing almost no English. (My mother’s parents came from Hungary at the turn of the century and she was able to communicate with them in Hungarian.) Learning English, they worked hard and became part of the American middle class. So I understood the desperation that would cause Salaam to leave his homeland.

My friend questioned him further. She wanted to know if he left behind family in Syria. “No,” he replied, adding that they emigrated to Turkey. Why didn’t he go to Turkey as well, my friend wanted to know.

His answer was enlightening. He shared that throughout the Middle East and that part of the Muslim world, many of the countries are facing serious problems. He cited Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Palestine (Jordan), Syria, Lebanon, Iran and Iraq as examples. And he added that Turkey was in a similar situation. When I asked if he meant that these countries were unstable, he agreed. The potential was too high that the destructive events that happened to him in Syria might repeat themselves in Turkey.

He elaborated. In Syria, you never know when someone might approach you on the street and demand to know your background. Being a Muslim does not protect, as the battles are between various Muslim factions. Giving the wrong answer can be hazardous to one’s freedom and even one’s life.

In the United States, in contrast, he explained that no one ever demands to know what he believes. He has freedom to live his life pretty much as he pleases. He mentioned that here he has become friends with those who are Muslim, Christian, Jewish, and atheists. I replied that was also an accurate description of my list of clients.

He mentioned that it would take some time, but he was working on getting licensed as a dentist in this country. I told him that he had taken an important first step in learning the English language as well as he had. He was a bit surprised, but pleased at the compliment.

We finished our meal, paid our bill, and gave Salaam a generous tip in recognition of the great service he provided us. I can see this bright, personable young man going far. Wherever he ends up, he will make a good neighbor and friend to many. My pride in my country stems from the hope and second chance that the United States has provided this worthy person.

So what does this have to do with the title of my post? This is roundabout, even for me!

After I returned home, I meditated on the life of this young man and our conversation with him in the restaurant. As I did so, I sensed a grieving of the Spirit. If the body of Christ was truly united, what a testimony it would be to the many people like Salaam whose lives are torn apart by division, including warring within their own religion. In other places it might be tribal factions or class warfare.

How much more attractive would the Gospel be to the world if they saw a Christian body marked by love and unity? What a real alternative it would present. What a solace and refuge it would provide. Best of all, it is what Christ preached and prayed for us to be: brothers and sisters united in love for one another. Concentrating on what we have in common rather than where we differ.

If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also. – 1st John 4:20-21

We sing that they’ll know we are Christians by our love. Do we live it?

Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. These things I command you, that ye love one another. – John 15:8-17

As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. – John 17:18-21

“That the world may believe” … isn’t that what we Christians should want more than anything else in the world? It is so simple the way Jesus spells it out for us. But history has shown that it isn’t easy.

Nevertheless, let’s summarize it in simple language. The world will believe in the Father and in His Son, Jesus Christ, if they see our unity. We will achieve unity if we love one another within the body of Christ.

That’s the game plan from our Salvation Captain. Let’s practice it so we can execute it, even under difficult circumstances. If you watched the Super Bowl, you witnessed that the team able to do a better job of executing their game plan won the prize.

You have been waiting long enough for me to resolve the apparent contradiction at the end of my last post. I spent more time than usual polishing this series of posts, and the amount of material required me to divide it into more posts than I originally envisioned.

The Lord’s physical encounters between Him and man either greatly diminished or ceased entirely for many centuries after the death of Moses. Perhaps it was because of the Jews frightened reaction not only to the sight of the Lord (Exodus 24, mentioned in my previous post), but also to Moses whose face shone so much after he personally communed with God that he had to put a veil over his face.

But then, we have the writings of the New Testament. Now if we search diligently through these writings, we find two quotes that at first would seem to continue the contradiction. Both are found in John’s Gospel. In John 1:18, he reiterates words similar to what we saw in the Old Testament: “No man hath seen God at any time”. Yet John clearly believed in the deity of Christ and saw Him on a daily basis for a number of years. Why would he say this?

The answer is in a clarification that is made when he quotes Jesus in John 6:46: “Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father.” Aha, the answer to the apparent contradiction is the Trinity, that God is a triune God, one God in three persons. If and only if the Father, Son and Holy Spirit have existed as one God throughout all time, could Moses report that no man can see God and live, and John report that no man has seen God, and yet both also report that they have seen God. Moses did not specifically know that he saw the Son of God. John did. God reveals his knowledge progressively, building knowledge upon prior knowledge, scripture upon scripture.

Many centuries after Moses, God choose a place and time to lift the veil between Him and the Jews. At the same time, He becomes a light to Gentiles in a way previously unknown. This was done in connection with the numerous sightings of Jesus Christ, the witness of those sightings, and the testimony that He is the Son of God.

Large crowds by the standards of the day (often called multitudes in the Bible) witnessed the teaching and miracles of Jesus. In previous posts, I have talked about Jesus feeding thousands of people on more than one occasion. The number of men was 5,000 on one occasion and 4,000 on another. Women and children were also present, so a number in the vicinity of 10,000 is not out of the question.

Furthermore, Jesus did not stay in one place. He carried His ministry as far north as Sidon in Phoenician Syria (modern day Saida in southern Lebanon) and as far south as most of Judea, including all of the west bank and a few miles east of the Jordan River on the east bank from the modern day Golan Heights to the modern day country of Jordan around the Dead Sea. In addition to Jews, he was seen by Syrians, Phoenicians, Samaritans, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians and people from a number of other nearby countries who traveled to and through Jerusalem and vicinity, primarily for trade.

At this time, shepherds were at the low end of the social ladder. It is not likely that they would have left their work to see a newborn baby. Here is the angelic message that drew them.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. – Luke 2:9-14

A few weeks later, Jesus was brought to the temple in Jerusalem in fulfillment of the Law regarding first born sons. Two devout elderly people met Jesus, Mary and Joseph there. Simeon and Anna the prophetess gave testimony that this child was the long-awaited Messiah and redeemer.

Shortly before Joseph was warned in a dream to take Jesus and Mary to Egypt to escape from the desire of King Herod to kill the newborn King, there was another witness: distinguished visitors from the east who brought three gifts to the foretold King of the Jews who had been born in Bethlehem under a particular star. Their witness is not diminished by the fact that we don’t know their exact number or a more specific place of origin.

With the exception of an incident at the temple in Jerusalem when Jesus amazed the elders with His knowledge at age 12, we don’t have any specifics of the life of Jesus from His exile to the start of His ministry at approximately age 30. We can surmise that He was seen by only a small number of people near His home during that time and that there was no mention of His divinity in this period. But then, there began a series of events that catapulted Him from humble obscurity to being seen by many thousands and becoming (as many would agree) the single most influential person to walk the face of the earth.

John the Baptist was the first to give witness to the spiritual identity of Jesus as an adult. This John testified that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world and the Son of God. As a result, some of John’s disciples left John and began to follow Jesus. After John baptized Jesus with water and Jesus went into the desert to fast for forty days (and be tempted by the devil), Jesus formally began His ministry: recruiting disciples, teaching throughout Galilee, performing His first miracle (turning water into wine during the wedding feast at Cana) and announcing His ministry (and the beginnings of the fulfillment of prophecy) at His home synagogue in Nazareth.

The following people also saw a physical (as opposed to spiritual) Jesus and bore witness to His deity:

Philip and Nathanael of Bethsaida: In the first chapter of John’s Gospel, starting with verse 43, Jesus called Philip to be His disciple. Philip immediately went out and witnessed to Nathanael about Jesus, saying, “We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” (verse 45) When Nathanael expresses doubt, Philip brings him to Jesus. After a short conversation between Nathanael and Jesus, Nathanael tells Him, “Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.” (verse 49)

Simon Peter: In three of the four Gospels, Jesus first asks His disciples who people say that He is. They tell Him the different opinions that they have heard. Then Jesus asks them, who they say that He is. Simon, as usual, is first to reply. In Matthew 16:16, he tells Jesus: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

I once heard an elder in a Protestant church declare that Jesus never said that He is the Son of God. It is a sad commentary to the extent of Bible illiteracy in the church, even extending to some of the leaders. For Jesus testifies to His divinity on a number of occasions. His response to Peter is one of those times: “Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” (verse 17)

In the eighth chapter of John’s Gospel (verses 12-58), Jesus has a lengthy discourse with a group of Jews. Among the things He said to them relating to His deity: “Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.” (verse 23); “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.” (verse 56); “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.” (verse 58). Throughout this chapter, Jesus is testifying to His origin (from His heavenly Father, not from earth) and that His Father bears witness to Him and honors Him. Finally, He tells them that He not only preceded Abraham, He is the “I am.” This simple phrase has little significance to most people now, but the Jews of His day (and many even today), were quite aware that Jesus was describing Himself by the name that was too holy to even speak, the name by which God revealed Himself to Moses. That the Jews understood His meaning is evidenced by the fact that immediately after He said it, they attempted to stone Him for speaking blasphemy. Unfortunately they failed to understand the most important part: that it was true.

After the arrest of Jesus, both the high priest and Pilate separately ask Jesus if He is either the Son of God or the King of the Jews. In some of the Gospel accounts, His answer could be colloquially translated as, “You said it!” In Mark 14:62, the answer of Jesus is more emphatic: “I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.” There’s that simple phrase, “I am”, again. It was upon hearing that answer that the high priest declared that there was no more need of witnesses against Jesus. He deserved death for His blasphemy.

There were two unlikely witnesses to the deity of Jesus during His crucifixion. Two criminals were crucified with Him. At first both mocked Him. But then one repented, and after rebuking the other criminal, the following exchange took place between him and Jesus (Luke 23:42-43): “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.”

There was also a Roman centurion in charge of the procedure. Having witnessed the manner in which Jesus conducted Himself during that horribly painful means of death (it is where we get the word “excruciating”), seeing to the needs of His mother, showing mercy to the repentant criminal, forgiving those who did this to Him, the centurion declared at the end: “Truly this man was the Son of God.” (Mark 15:39)

I spoke in previous posts about being able to see God through the effects of His actions. There were a series of amazing events that took place on the same day as the crucifixion of Jesus. Any one of them might be considered a coincidence. But all of them together on the same day? There was a solar eclipse for three hours, an earthquake, the veil of the temple before the holy of holies was torn in two and “graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.” (Matthew 27:52-53)

There is one final set of witnesses: the empty tomb and those who saw Jesus after His resurrection. We will look at those in my next post. Because they are the most important witnesses of all, they are the ones most often attacked. Therefore, they require special attention. And I will address this in my next post.